Henry Norman, with his friends Alaric and Charley Tudor, all of them in government service, were frequent visitors at the suburban home of Mrs. Woodward and her three daughters. Henry loved Gertrude, the eldest daughter, but she refused him as she loved Alaric. Alaric won by competitive examination a place to which Henry aspired but for which he was unwilling to compete and, when he became engaged to Gertrude, Henry felt doubly aggrieved and bitterly angry.

In a desire to make money quickly, Alaric fell into the hands of Undy Scott, a stockbroker, who induced him to join in several dubious ventures, for one of which he was persuaded to embezzle from a trust fund. He was tried and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

Henry meantime had succeeded to the family estates and was engaged to marry the second Woodward daughter, Linda. He generously aided Gertrude in clearing up her husband’s affairs and, on Alaric’s release from prison, helped them to emigrate to Australia.

The third clerk, Charley Tudor, spent several profitless years in the Internal Navigation Office, wasting his time and getting into debt. He became involved with the moneylenders, narrowly escaped marriage with a barmaid and completely lost faith in himself.. Alaric’s catastrophe, however, brought him to a realization of his danger and, largely through the influence of Katie Woodward, he pulled himself together, secured a better position, and when Katie recovered from a seemingly mortal illness, they were married.